Hybrid biomass, solar and wind electricity generation in rural areas of Fez-Meknes region in Morocco considering water consumption of animals and anaerobic digester

High dependence of Morocco's energy sector on imported fossil fuels and subsequent associated expensive import bills, as well as global agreements with greenhouse gas emission reduction, has motivated Morocco to utilize renewable energy sources such as hydro, wind, and solar for energy generation. However, in recent years, the use of wind and solar energies in Morocco has accelerated more than hydropower usage because of the reduction in water levels as a result of rainfall drop, global warming, and natural droughts. Morocco has a great potential for electricity generation from solar and wind energies because of many sunny days, vast desert areas, long coastlines, and appropriate wind blow. However, accommodations of wind and solar generating units in electric power systems are difficult because of wind speed variations, solar irradiation uncertainty, and costly energy storage systems. Regarding the huge amounts of biowaste in Morocco, power generation from biomass can resolve this problem and compensate for the decrease in wind and solar energy generation during cloudy, rainy, and/or non-windy moments. Therefore, in the present paper, the capability of hybrid electric energy generation, using biomass, wind, and solar in a Moroccan village of Tazouta and the rural area of Fez city is evaluated. The proposed mixed-integer linear programming model was implemented in A Mathematical Pro-gramming Language (AMPL) using a linear solver of CPLEX. The biomass, solar, and wind power plants are biogas units fed by cow manure, 1-kW photovoltaic (PV) modules, and 5.1-kW wind turbines, respectively. The evaluation of the results indicates that hybrid utilization of wind, PV, and biomass energy resources is a more appropriate way for electricity generation in Tazouta and Fez rural areas compared to the individual operation of wind turbines and other combinations of mentioned renewable energy sources.

Automated summary

The high dependence on imported fossil fuels and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have driven Morocco to focus on renewable energy sources such as hydro, wind, and solar. However, in recent years, wind and solar energy usage has outpaced hydropower due to water level reductions caused by rainfall drop, global warming, and droughts. Morocco has great potential for solar and wind energy generation due to its sunny days, vast desert areas, long coastlines, and suitable wind conditions. However, integrating wind and solar units into the power grid has challenges due to variations in wind speed, solar irradiation uncertainty, and expensive energy storage systems. Biomass power generation can compensate for the decrease in wind and solar energy during cloudy or non-windy periods. Therefore, this study evaluates the hybrid utilization of biomass, wind, and solar energy in a Moroccan village and rural area, finding it to be a more appropriate approach compared to individual operation of wind turbines or other combinations of renewable energy sources.